Salmonella is not a concern for canines. It's *barely* a concern for people. I wouldn't worry about it.

Demo Dick

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

The first link I see is talking about how, yes, salmonella is in dog feces, but it's there even when they eat kibble, so raw food isn't any worse; dogs' digestive systems are so fast that bacteria has much less time to take hold, though they shed it in their feces. Dogs who contract it and show symptoms generally have an underlying health issue to begin with that compromises their immune system. That said, it's in a LOT of dog feces and many, many other things, from meats and dirty vegetables to the outside of eggshells. The way I understand it, we are exposed to it so much and in so many places that the rate of human instance is comparatively low. At least that's the way I understand it-- I could very well be mistaken.

Don't get me wrong-- I bleach the hell out of my sink when we cook poultry and put my knives and cutting boards directly in the washer, but I know in the back of my mind that I'm exposed to it all the time and have come away clean.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

This topic is close to our senses because Trouble ate ground turkey almost exclusively her last 8-9 months (she was allergic to beef). And we always had to be aware of introducing anything (food or environmental) to her or around her because she did have a compromised immune system. She took Atopica for a long while and after that the chemo, two big strikes against the immune system.

At one point early in the allergy fight, Trouble was being treated by an allergy specialist. The specialist was less than excited that I was trying raw because she felt it could introduce bacteria that would cause illness.

I know everyone here is very aware of what is appropriate for their dogs, but sometimes people don't consider dogs being treated for allergies can fall into the compromised immune system category.

hugapitbull wrote:This topic is close to our senses because Trouble ate ground turkey almost exclusively her last 8-9 months (she was allergic to beef). And we always had to be aware of introducing anything (food or environmental) to her or around her because she did have a compromised immune system. She took Atopica for a long while and after that the chemo, two big strikes against the immune system.

At one point early in the allergy fight, Trouble was being treated by an allergy specialist. The specialist was less than excited that I was trying raw because she felt it could introduce bacteria that would cause illness.

I know everyone here is very aware of what is appropriate for their dogs, but sometimes people don't consider dogs being treated for allergies can fall into the compromised immune system category.

The way I understand it with allergies is that the body's immune system is OVER-reactive to allergens... not suppressed or under-reactive. I could be wrong but that is the way I have always understood it.

I could definitely see being cautious if your dog is a chemo patient although as far as I understand it salmonella is still not a huge problem for dogs and a lot of people on the forums I belonged to still feed raw food to their cancer patients.

I also have to add a lot of veterinarians are not fond of raw diets or even homemade diets. Most of the time you will find a veterinarian that still stands ONLY by Science Diet, Purina, Iams, etc. Don't get me wrong, there ARE vets out there who understand raw feeding and support it and I believe there are more out there that support it than there used to be. In most cases however a lot of vets still do not support it and it has nothing to do with 'dangers' but the vets own inexperience in feeding raw. Not saying your specialist was wrong at all but that's a pretty typical reaction to raw feeding.

Add to this that there has been research done showing that dogs do not carry Salmonella in their saliva or on their skin, not even after eating 100% Salmonella infected raw food! But, when they do eat Salmonella infected food, about one third of them will show a moderate concentration of Salmonella in their feces - yet no clinical signs of being sick.

plebayo wrote:The way I understand it with allergies is that the body's immune system is OVER-reactive to allergens... not suppressed or under-reactive. I could be wrong but that is the way I have always understood it.

hugapitbull wrote:she did have a compromised immune system. She took Atopica for a long while and after that the chemo, two big strikes against the immune system.

You are correct Suzanne, the allergies make one over reactive to allergens. It is the Atopica that compromises the immune system (see side effects). Atopica was a gamble we took to give Trouble some relief from being itchy ALL the time. If you will read the package insert, Atopica is contraindicated in dogs who have tumors. We discovered this when Trouble was diagnosed.

And my pet peeve (no pun intended) - Most vets push the food brands you mention because it is money in their pockets, not because they are good products. There is a lot of controversy over food and that debate could go on forever. I don't see anything wrong with feeding raw, I think it is a healthy choice, but I still believe there a some risks. Food is a personal choice and one must do the research and make their own decisions about what is right for their dog.

Most vets push the food brands you mention because it is money in their pockets, not because they are good products.

I'm sure that's some of it for some vets... but I think the real problem is more due to the fact that they next next to zero training about nutrition in vet school, and what training is given is often sponsored by these companies. they sponsor most clinical research into companion animal diet and nutrition, too. I looked into one vet program a while back that had one course on nutrition, it was very VERY broad and not even required. It's something most vets only know a lot about if it's of particular interest to them, much like with our own doctors, I'm afraid.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

amalie79 wrote:what training is given is often sponsored by these companies.

Just the way the world works now days. We were lucky having a Vet that is 'diet versed', He is the one that suggested the ground turkey/veggie diet for 'Spirit' Trouble when she had to drop those extra pounds.